Amid speculation of countless reported big money moves Arsene Wenger has now set his sights on highly rated Spanish Under 21 international Asier Illarremendi but unfortunately the midfielder’s Real Sociedad employers are looking to garner as much as £25m from his sale according to the Marca.

The 23 year old midfielder played a pivotal role in Spain’s European Under 21 Championship success this month and has subsequently found himself the object of attention.

Barcelona and Real Madrid are also said to be keen on the holding midfielder who helped his side secure a first Champions League berth in over a decade, making 32 La Liga starts in 2012/13, collecting 11 yellow cards in the process.

Talk of Arsenal’s interest led to the Basque side pointing out they would not accept anything less than Illarremendi’s €30m (£25m) release clause and that may well rule Wenger out of the race.

Whilst there is perhaps a decent chance of the North London club smashing their club record signing fee to bring in a proven striker like Gonzalo Higuain it seems next to impossible to believe the Gunners boss would pay such a fee for a defensively minded midfielder, even though Arsenal could well do with just such a player.

Wenger hasn’t replaced Alex Song and Mikel Arteta has been forced to do a lot of dirty work in the centre of the midfield and with Abou Diaby once again out with a long term injury a move to bring in some extra steel to protect the likes of Jack Wilshere and Santi Cazorla makes sense but can perhaps be resolved by signing a player at half Illarramedi’s asking price.